Suction cleaner with switch circuit



Feb. 27, 1951 o. w. TIMM SUCTION CLEANER WITH SWITCH CIRCUIT Filed Aug.21, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I/vvE/v T02 'OrTo W 77mm m w e E m a & no 2 i,mr s 5 F w W HnFP/s, 2E

Patented Feb. 27, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 12 Claims.

My invention relates to the suction cleaner art and, more particularly,to a suction cleaner adap ed for household or hotel use or the like andhaw ing a number of improvements over standard types of such devices.

It is common in the art to provide a vacuum cleaner of the suction typewith a motor and a dust collecting chamber enclosed in a housing, thedevice having supporting runners and adapted to be moved from place toplace in operation by a suction hose connected to the suction opening ofthe device. Such suction cleaners common- 1y are provided with the motorand dust chamber in horizontal axial alignment, which provides a verylow construction which is awkward for an operator to pick up, as mustfrequently be done in moving the device from room to room for operation.It is therefore an object of my present invention to provide a whollyenclosed suction cleaner or" sufficient height to permit the handlethereof to be grasped by an operator without requiring a substantialsteoping movement of the operator, thus relieving the physical effortrequired to move many of the suction cleaners of the prior art. I preferto accomplish this object by providing an enclosed housing separated bya partition into a vertical motor chamber and a vertical filter chamber,a motor and fan unit 12 ing disposed in the motor chamber and a verticalfilter bag being disposed in the filter chamber, and this is a furtherobject of the invention.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a suction cleaner inwhich dust and foreign materials are filtered from incoming air on theoutside or a suitable filter bag, with improved means provided foragitating the bag as desired to remove dust therefrom and thus clean thefiltering surface.

A further object is to provide such a device in which the filter bag isagitated by agitating mechanism contained within the bag, preferablyincluding an auxiliary electric motor for actuating the agitatingmechanism. To accomplish this purpose, the elements of the agitatingmechanism, described hereinafter, are of significance.

A further object of my invention is to provide, with a suction cleanerhaving a main motor for drawing air through the device and an auxiliarymotor for agitating a filter bag to remove dust from the filteringsurface thereof, an electric circuit whereby the auxiliary motor isenergized only when the main motor is deenergized. I prefer to providesuch a circuit whereby the auxiliary motor is so energized for apredetermined period. and then i automatically deenergized, and this isanother object of the invention.

Other objects of the invention reside in additional constructionfeatures to be pointed out hereinafter, and will be evident from thefollowing specification and the drawings, which are for illustrativepurposes only and in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical view, partly in cross section, takenthrough my suction cleaner;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the line '22 of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of a portion of Fig. illustrating a workingposition of the shaker mechanism shown in Fig. 2; and

l is a diagrammatic view of the electrical circuit of my invention.

Referring to the drawings, I show a housing it divided by a verticalpartition wall [2 into a motor chamber 53 and a filter chamber it, theupper ends of which communicate through an upper chamber l5 of thehousing. Disposed in the motor chamber 13 is an electric motor i'I,constituting the main motor unit of the invention, and disposed in thefilter chamber I4 is a filter unit [8.

The electric motor I! is vertically disposed in the motor chamber i3,being supported by a bearing H on a circular plate 26, which in turn issupported by a resilient rubber washer H on the upper end of a reelshaft 22 which engages a detachable bottom wall 23 of the housing It.The electric motor I! is enclosed by a cylindrical porous filter elementIS. The upper end of the electric motor I! is provided with an annularcollar 25 which engages an annular sealing ring 26, preferably formed ofrubber or other resilient material, which in turn engages an annularcollar 2'5 formed on a horizontally disposed flange 28 which is suitablysecured to the inner wall of the housing Hi and to the partition walli2, as by welding or otherwise. As will be evident, the rubber washer 2iand the sealing ring 25 provide a resilient mounting for the electricmotor I1, adapted to absorb vibration thereof. As will also beunderstood, the drive shaft (not shown) of the electric motor I! extendsdownwardly into the vertical filter element i9 and is provided withsuitable fan blades (not shown) thereon adapted to draw air from theupper chamber l5 and through the motor chamber l3 to expel it from 3 asuitably disposed discharge opening 29 formed in the lower portion ofthe housing ill, the filter element 19 removing any traces of dust fromthe air circulated therethrough.

In the motor chamber l3 beneath the electric motor I? is a reel device3i, which may be of any form well known in the art, which is rotatablymounted on the reel shaft 22 and is adapted to carry a power cord 32,one end of which extends out of the housing through a suitable powercord opening 33, the power cord being of the conventional formconsisting of two wires 3 and one of which is connected electrically toan inner collector ring and the other of which is electrically connectedto an outer collector ring 23?, as is well known in the art. Thecollector rings 36 and 3?, which are fixed to the reel device 39 androtate therewith relative to the housing i@, are engaged by conventionalbrushes 3E and 39,

respectively. The brush 3B is connected by a wire 4| to a pole of asingle-pole, double-throw main switch 52, as best shown diagrammaticallyin Fig. i, the contacts of which are connected by wires 43 and i l to anauxiliary switch The auxiliary switch 55 includes a housing providedwith electrical contacts 1-3 and ll) to which the wires ii and 44 areconnected, respectively. The housing ll is also provided with electricalcontacts 59 and 5|. The contacts ll? and 5i are connected by aresistance wire 52, which, when current is flowing therethrough, isdesigned to heat a bimetal strip 53 connected to the electrical contactso as to bend the bimetal strip so that a contact 55 thereon engages thelower end of a contact screw 55 electrically connected to the electricalcontact 5; Also provided in the housing ll is a stop adapted to preventengagement of the bimetal strip 53 with the resistance wire 52.

The electrical contact 59 is connected by a wire 58 to one side of anauxiliary electric motor unit 59, the other side of which is connectedby a wire 59 to the brush 39, the brush 39 also being connected by awire 9i with one side of the main electric motor ii. electric motor llis connected by a wire '52 to the electrical contact ill of theauxiliary switch Integrally connected with the top of the verticalpartition Wall E? is a horizontal plate B l provided with a rectangularopening 55, the inner edge of the plate being curved to form a lipadapted to be engaged by a sealing ring preferably formed of rubber orother resilient material, which is supported in a cupped flange 63 ofrectangular shape, which, together with the sealing ring 51, closes therectangular opening 65, the fiange being provided with openings 39 andill at each end thereof and being secured to the auxiliary electricmotor unit 59, preferably by screws ll, as best shown in Fig. 2.

The auxiliary electric motor unit 59 is of any suitable design,including a vertical drive shaft 713 and an electric motor (not shown indetail) connected tothe upper end of the drive shaft. The auxiliaryelectric motor unit 58 is provided with a pair of electrical contacts "iand i5 supported on insulated contact arms E6, the electrical contactsl4 and ":5 being adapted to engage contacts 'l'i' and iii supported by abracket "13 suitably secured to the inner wall of the top of the housingHi, the contacts ll and '53 being electrically connected to the wires 89and. 58, respectively. The auxiliary electric motor unit 59, togetherwith the cupped flange secured thereto. is suspended by means of a screw80 from The other side of the main the housing Hi. It will thus beobserved that upon removal of the screw 89 and the removable bottom wallthe filter unit i8 may be removed downwardly through the housing whichbreaks the electrical connection between the contacts i l and ii and thecontacts '15 and "it, to permit the auxiliary electric motor unit 53 andits associated mechanism to be readily rcmoved from the housing forcleaning or repair, and this is a feature of the invention.

Secured to and depending from the cupped flange 58 is a bag member 82,comprising a portion of the filter unit I8, and preferably formed of afilter fabric material suitable for filtering dust and dirt from airpassing therethrough. Disposed in the hollow bag member 82 is theagitating means 83 of the invention, which includes a framework 84consisting of four vertical members 85 interconnected by four bracemembers 89, the lower ends or" which are secured to a rectangular flangemember 81 having a circular central opening 88 therein. The members and86 are preferably made of resilient material, such as spring steel, andthe uppe ends thereof are secured to four depending ears 89 preferablyintegrally formed on the cupped flange 58. Rigidly secured to therectangular flange member 81 is an agitator element 9! comprisingvertical end members 92 and 93 and a pair of bottom straps 95 and 95. Aswill be apparent, the agitator element 9| is spaced but slightly fromthe inner wall of the bag member 82, so that upon lateral movement ofthe agitator element it will contact the bag member to agitate the same.

Connected to the drive shaft 13 of the auxiliary electric motor unit 59by a resilient coupling 91, preferably formed of rubber or otherresilient material, is a vertical rotatable shaft 98 which paszesthrough a bearing 99 and has secured to the lower end thereof across-pin I09, to be outer end of which is fastened an eccentric weightNil. The bearing 99 is supported in a resilient diaphragm I03,preferably formed of rubber or other resilient material, which snapsinto the central opening 88 of the rectangular fiange member 81.

Disposed in the filter chamber [4 below the filter unit 18 is aremovable tray I04 which passes through a rectangular opening H05 in thehousing ill. Also communicating with the filter chamber i4 is a suctionopening I06, and between the suction opening Hi6 and the filter unit 18is disposed a deflection plate member Hi1 which directs air entering thefilter chamber around the inner wall thereof and prevents it fromimpinging directly upon the bag member 82.

In operation, which will be best understood by preliminary reference toFig. 4, when the main switch 32 is clozed so as to close the circuitbetween the wires 4i and 14, current flows therethrough, through theresistance wire 52, and the wire 92 to the main electric motor H toenergize the same, the other side of the motor being at all timesconnected by the wire 6! to the power supply. When the main electricmotor I! is energized, the blower unit connected therewith (not shown)draws air through the suction opening W6 into the filter chamber 14,through the filter unit 58 to filter all dust and dirt particlestherefrom, through the upper chamber 15 and the motor chamber l3,through the motor 11, and forces it through the filter element l9 andout through the discharge opening 29. As will be apparent, when the mainelectric motor I! is thus energized, current flowing through theresistance wire 52 will cause it to heat substantially, to heat thebimetal strip 53, causing the bimetal strip to bend upwardly until thecontact 54 thereof engages the lower end of the contact screw 55 toclose an electrical circuit between the wires 43 and 58 leading to theauxiliary motor 59. However, obviously, so long as the main switch 42 isin its closed position just described, in which the main electric motorH is energized, no current will flow through the switch 42 to the wire43, and, consequently, the auxiliary electric motor 59 will not beenergized.

As soon as the main electric witch 42 is opened, i. e., moved to thedotted line position illustrated in Fig. 4, after having actuated themain electric motor ll for a sufiicient period of time to closeelectrical contact between the contact 54 and the contact screw 55,current can then pass from the wire 4i through the main switch 42 to thewire 43,

from which it flows through the contact 48, the.

bimetal strip 53, the contact 5%, the contact screw 55, the contact 55,and the wire 58 to the auxiliary electric motor 59 to energize the same,the other side of the electric motor as being connected at engages andagitates the inner wall of the bag member 82. Such agitation of the bagmember 82 shakes the dust accumulated on the outside thereof, the dustsettling into the removable tray lo l. Cooling of th resistance wire52,due to the deenergization thereof, allows the bimetal strip 53 i tocool, and after a short predetermined period of time, such as, forexample, fifteen seconds, the bimetal strip moves downwardly to engagethe stop 55, thus breaking electrical contact between the contact 5:;and the contact screw 55, which breaks the circuit to the auxiliaryelectric motor 59 to deenergize the same. Upon again operating the mainswitch 2, to close the circuit between the wires ti and 4d, the cycle ofoperation of the device is repeated.

The cycle of operation just described is of primary importance in theinvention, although it is to be understood that it may be modifiedwithout departing from the spirit of the invention. Due to therelatively small surface area of the bag member 52, it will rapidlybecome clogged with dust during operation unless the dust is removedtherefrom at relatively frequent intervals. Although separate manuallyoperable switche may be provided for the main electric motor ll and theauxiliary electric motor unit 59, I have found that the averagehousewife will either forget to operate the auxiliary motor atsufficiently close intervals to maintain the surface of the bag member82 adequately free from dust, or will merely neglect to do so, or willoperate it for an unnecessarily long period when she does operate it.Since in normal household use an electric suction cleaner is frequentlyenergized and deenergized, and since in my invention the bag member 82is agitated every time that the main motor is deenergized, it will beapparent that dust deposited on the outer surface of the bag member willbe shaken oil and collected in the tray m4 almost as soon as depositedon the bag member, thus The eccentric weight it! un- ,y,

maintaining the bag member adequately pervious to the air stream fiowingtherethrough. Also, since the auxiliary electric motor unit 59 isactuated in each instance for a predetermined time interval, it isinsured that the bag member 82 is shaken suniciently to accomplish thispurpose, but substantially no more. Thus, the present invention providesmeans for automatically maintaining the filter unit 58 in satisfactoryoperating condition over long periods of use, the only requirement onthe user being that the tray I04 must be emptied of its collected dustand dirt at intervals.

The construction of the agitating means 33 is also a particularlyimportant feature of the invention, as it provides efficient means foragitating the bag member 82 as desired. Flexibility of ire-framework. 8t permits the agitator element e: to oscillate smoothly in response tothe unbalanced oscillation of the rotatable shaft 98 caused by theeccentric weight iill, which contributes to the desired result.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many of theelements of my device, as illustrated and described hereinabove, may bereplaced by other elements having substantially the same mode ofoperation without departing from the spirit of my invention, andconsequently I do not desire to be limited to the specific formillustrated and described, but desire to be afforded the full scope ofthe following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a suction cleaner, the combination of: an enclosed housing havinga suction opening and a discharge opening; filter means in said housingbetween said openings and adapted to filter air passing therebetween; amain electric motor device in said housing and adapted when energized tomove air, between said openings and through said filter m ans; anauxiliary electric motor in said housing and adapted when energized toagitate said filter means; means for energizing said main motor device;and means for energizing said auxiliary motor automatically when saidmain motor device is deenergized.

2. In a suction cleaner, the combination of: an enclosed housing havinga suction opening and a discharge opening; filter means in said housingbetween said openings and adapted to filter air passing therebetween; amain electric motor device in said housing and adapted when energized tomove air between said openings and through said filter means; anauxiliary electric motor in said housing and adapted when energized toagitate said filter means; means for energizing said main motor device;and means for energizing said auxiliary motor automatically for apredetermined period of time after said main motor device isdeenergized.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of: filtermeans for filtering a flow of ai passing therethrough; electrical powermeans for causing a flow of air through said filter means; electricalagitating means for agitating said filter means; a first electricalcircuit adapted to supply current to said power means, including a mainswitch; and a second electrical circuit connected to said main switchand adapted to supply current to said agitating means, said secondcircuit including auxiliary switch means adapted to be closed inresponse to a flow of current through said first circuit, said first andsecond circuits being selectively energizable by operation of said mainswitch.

4. In a suction cleaner, the combination of an. enclosed housing having,a suction opening and a discharge opening; filter means in said housingbetween said openings and adapted to filter air passing therebetween; amain electric motor device in said housing and adapted when energized tomove air between said openings and through said filter means; anauxiliary electric motor in said housing and adapted when energized toagitate said filter means; a first electrical circuit connected withsaid main electric motor means and adapted to supply current thereto,including a main switch; and a second electrical circuit connectedwithsaid auxiliary electric motor and adapted to supply current thereto,including auxiliary switch means adapted to be closed in response to aflow of current through said first circuit, said first and secondcircuits being selectively energizable by operation of said main switch.

5 In a suction cleaner, the combination of: an enclosed housing having asuction opening and a discharge opening; filter means in said housingbetween said openings and adapted to filter air passing therebetween; amain electric motor device in said housing and adapted when energized tomove air between said openings and through said filter means; anauxiliary electric motor in said housing and adapted when energized toagitate said filter means; a first electrical circuit connected withsaid main electric motor means and adapted to supply current thereto,including a main switch; and a second electrical circuit connected withsaid auxiliary electric motor and adapted to supply current thereto,including auxiliary switch means adapt ed to be closed in response to aflow of current through said first circuit, said auxiliary switch meansbeing of the thermally responsive type, said first and second circuitsbeing selectively energizable by operation of said main switch.

6. In a suction cleaner, the combination of: an enclosed housing havinga suction opening and a discharge opening; filter means suspended insaid housing between said openings and adapted to filter air passingtherebetween; a main electric motor device in said housing and adaptedwhen energized to move air between said openings and through said-filtermeans, said filter means including a hollow, placid bag formed offiltering material; agitating means in said bag, including a frameworkformed of resilient material and a rotatable shaft fiexibly connectedthereto, adapted in'response to rotation of said shaft to agitate saidbag; and an auxiliary electric motor flexibly connected to said shaftand adapted to rotate and fies; the same.

'7. In a suction cleaner, the combination of: an enclosed housing havinga suction opening and a discharge opening; filter means suspended insaid housing between said openings and adapted to filter air passingtherebetween; a main electric motor device in said housing and adaptedwhen energized to move air between said openings and through said filtermeans, said filter means including a hollow bag formed of filteringmaterial; agitating means in said bag, including a rotatable shafthaving an eccentric weight connected thereto, adapted in response torotation of said shaft to agitate said bag; and an auxiliary electricmotor flexibly connected to said shaft and adapted to rotate and flexthe same.

8. In a suction cleaner, the combination of: an enclosed housing havinga suction opening and a discharge opening; filter means in said housingbetween said openings and adapted to filter air passing therebtween; amain electric motor device in said housing and adapted when energized tomove air between said openings and through said filter means, saidfilter means including a hollow bag formed of filtering material;agitating means in said bag, including a framework and a rotatable shaftconnected to said framework and having an eccentric weight connectedthereto, adapted in response to rotation of said shaft toagitate saidbag; and an auxiliary electric motor connected to said shaft and adaptedto rotate the same.

9. In a suction cleaner, the combination of a housing; a filter bagdepending in said housing; means for conveying dust-laden air throughsaid filter bag; agitating means, including an electric motor, aresilient framework, and means fiexibly connecting said motor to saidframework so as to agitate said framework, said framework being adaptedto extend downwardly into said filter bag; and means for suspending saidagitating means as a unit from said housing.

10. In a suction cleaner, the combination of t a housing; a filter bagdepending in said housing; means for conveying dust-laden air throughsaid filter bag; agitating means, including an electric motor, aresilient framework, and means flexibly connecting said motor to saidframework so as to agitate said framework, said framework being adaptedto extend downwardly into said filter bag; means for forming afluid-tight seal between said framework and said housing and so as tosupport said filter bag; and means for suspending said agitating meansas a unit from said housing.

11. In a suction cleaner, the combination of: an enclosed housing havinga suction opening and a discharge opening; filter means in said housingbetween said openings and adapted to filter air passing therebetwcen; amain electric motor device in said housing and adapted when energized tomove air between said openings and through said filter means; an au'liary eiectri motor in said housing and adapted when. gized to agitatesaid filter means; a first electrical circuit connected with said mainelectric motor device and adapted to supply current thereto, said firstelectrical circuit including a main switch having a first contact and asecond contact and a movable element adapted to be engaged selectivelywith either of said contacts, said element and said first contact beingconnected in said first circuit; an electrical heater element connectedin said first circuit and adapted to be heated by current flowingtherethrough when said first circuit is closed; and a second electricalcircuit connected between said second contact and said auxiliaryelectric motor, said second circuit including a contact element and abimetal strip disposed between said contact element and said heaterelement and adapted to flex into engagement with said contact element inresponse to heat generated by said heater element so as to allow closingof said second circuit when said movable element is disengaged from saidfirst contact and engaged with said second contact to open said firstcircuit, said bimetal st p being adapted to remain flexed in engagementwith said contact element for a predetermined period of time followingde-energizing of said heater element, due to stored up heat therein, andbeing adapted to straighten when the stored up heat is dissipated so asto open said second circuit.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Plaisted Oct. 19, 1920 Name DateMullen May 13, 1924 Merrell et a1. May 27, 1930 Hornbrook May 4, 1943Forsberg Apr. 3, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Jan. 5,1922 Great Britain 1.. July 23, 1928 Germany Nov. 27, 1935

